The event will focus on the potential of green jobs and the need to unlock that opportunity especially for young people. According to the International Labor Organization (ILO), over 600 million new jobs would be needed in the next 10 years. In particular, with as much as one in three unemployed persons today between the ages of 15 and 24 years, governments are called on to shift priorities toward greater investment in youth. Youth harness enormous potential for growth and development, as many of them are well educated. Not engaging them in productive activities is a huge waste of human resources.

The green economy as an approach to sustainable development may offer job opportunities for youth, provided policies are well designed and implemented. This goes along with investing in clean technologies and new markets that create the demand for jobs. Skills upgrading, youth entrepreneurship promotion and greening work place practices are key components of the policy response.